Celebrating Women into Construction
Thursday 26th September saw us hold our 11th Anniversary Celebration of supporting women into construction during an uplifting and jubilant ceremony inside the historical Carpenters’ Hall in London. Over 200 partners, contractors and women gathered in the City to mark the achievements of both the women who have successfully gone through the WiC programme and those in the industry who continue to support us.
The evening began with our MD, Kath Moore MBE, taking the opportunity to inform the room about our past work, give an update on present programmes and focus on the future, discussing the exciting project and partner work that’s to come.
Photography © Coralie Datta
The Tideway and HS2 projects continue to be valuable partnerships for Women into Construction and we were delighted to have representatives from both speak about those continued successes at the event. Tideway’s HR Director, Julie Thornton spoke passionately about the importance of addressing the gender pay gap and HS2’s Head of Skills, Employment and Education, Kate Myers spoke of the successful collaboration between WIC and HS2 in Birmingham, enabling women to obtain opportunities within the HS2 supply chain.
We were also thrilled to make two announcements at this year’s celebration event. The first being that we are now working in Cambridgeshire thanks to our new partnership with Hill. Hill’s Regional Director, Tom Hill, launched the collaboration, speaking with pride about Hill’s commitment to supporting WiC in the region. Our Project Manager – Shelley Lawrence, who will be working within the Hill team in Cambridge to deliver the programme also took to the stage to discuss the project’s achievements so far.
Our second announcement of the evening was the launch our new initiative to address the gender pay gap. The pioneering scheme will see WiC recruiting 20 new companies – on top of the dozens we already co-operate with – to provide targeted training and support. At the same time 40 women already working within construction, but still in low pay, will receive mentoring and support to progress within the industry. We were delighted to have Shelley from BAM Nuttall talk about being “proud partners” of this initiative on the night.
Certificates were then given out to all the women in attendance who had obtained work-placements and employment through Women into Construction. It was fantastic to see so many different roles recognised, from engineers, site managers and quantity surveyors, to finance, document control and trade roles – we are extremely proud of all of the women who go through our programme.
The certificates where then followed by two of the celebrated women speaking very emotively about their WiC journeys. Michaela Hepburn, who took part in a WiC programme on the HS2 project in Birmingham captivated the audience with her story, pride and energy. Next up was Jamilliah, who emotionally described her time with Women into Construction as “one of the best experiences” having taken a work placement and then moved into employment with SES Engineering on the Battersea Power Station project.
We also recognised all of the contractors and clients who have worked with WiC over the past year, presenting representatives with certificates. Special awards went to those who have gone above and beyond. A huge congratulations to all our awards winners!
Awards
Most Engaged Contractor, London
Lendlease
Most Engaged Contractor, West Midlands
Carmichael UK
Most Engaged Contractor, East of England
Hill
Most Engaged Client, London
Tideway
Most Engaged Client, West Midlands
HS2
Most Engaged Individual
Shazad Ahmad
Most Progressed Woman, West Midlands
Kennedy Wheeler
Most Progressed Woman, East of England
Jodi Hucker
Most Progressed Woman, London
Jennifer Barker
The evening concluded with drinks, food and networking, thanks to our reception sponsors BAM Nuttall and K&M McLoughlin Decorating Ltd. The room was a-buzz with positivity, solidarity and support as the celebrations and conversations continued.
Congratulations to everyone who took home certificates and awards. A huge thank you to everyone who spoke so passionately and those who attended another inspirational WiC Celebration Event!
